Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 25 Update:
Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and welcome to the final fishing report of 2020. Considering how this year has been we’re thrilled to see it finally end, and we’re wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2021 filled with bent rods and slimy coolers. Due to the holidays (and some pretty lousy weather), gathering intel was difficult this week and the reports are a bit abbreviated. But rest assured, we’ll be back in 2021 ready to fish hard and bring you all the how-to, where-to fishing information possible. Thanks for staying tuned to FishTalk, and if you see the chance to do some fishing in the near future…
Angler’s Sport Center had to close their doors earlier this week due to an employee testing positive, but they’ve ensured that no one else has it, disinfected the store, and opened back up. After the holiday they’ll be opening at 7 a.m. Saturday and will be back to regular hours thereafter. Meanwhile, the anglers we spoke with this week either fished the tribs or headed to freshwater options. We heard from a reader who caught several pickerel to 24.5-inches in the Severn while casting three-inch twisters on 3/8-ounce RoadRunner heads, and FishTalk team member David Rudow out-fished his father while on the hunt for pickerel at the Salisbury millponds — catching picks to 26”, a 13.25-inch crappie, and multiple largemouth bass.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 18 Update:
Warning: most of our reports came in pre-storm. Naturally, we're expecting that the conditions will have deteriorated a bit in some areas. Tom Vito wins our December Angler of the Month award after tempting a 30-inch speckled trout to bite (on a one-ounce GI Jig/five-inch “opening night” Bass Assassin). Wow… just, wow! So yes, there are still specks in the warm water. (BTW Tom, we just made that award up out of thin air, and just for you. Wow, again). Meanwhile, we heard from several readers who tried for another alternative species, sea bass, on deep-water wrecks with mixed success. One reported working spoons over a reef site in just over 40 feet of water and catching some bass, but only throwbacks. Another tried a deeper wreck but said it was too rough to effectively pinpoint-anchor over the structure, and a third reported throwbacks plus one lone keeper. We also had a check-in from Joe at Reel Shot charters, who had a beautiful mix of fish late last week including stripers, specks, a puppy drum, and also some very nice sea bass.
Contributor Eric Packard noted that friend Julian went perch fishing in the Patuxent, and found fish suspended over deep (78-foot) water. Small metal jigs got ‘em biting, and they did catch plenty for dinner and then some.
Angler’s and Alltackle both reported that there are some white perch around the Bay Bridge Pilings. They haven’t been shy about taking little jigs, spinners, and baits. An afternoon in the tribs spent searching for perch was many anglers’ solace this week, as poor weather kept them from venturing onto the Bay.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 10 Update:
Goodbye, striper season! Several readers checked in after fishing Eastern Bay and the west side of The Hill to let us know their season ended on a good note with fish up to 32-inches in the mix.
Meanwhile, the Magothy and Severn continue to produce excellent pickerel fishing — at least, when there’s water. We heard from readers who did well there before the winds began howling, but contributor Eric Packard spent a day on the Magothy early this week and after the blow, even at high tide there was extremely low water. He reported seeing sailboats laying sideways in the mud, and only a pair of 19.5-inch pickerel on the end of his line. Alltackle in Annapolis confirmed the pickerel bite, letting us know that pickerel have been in the rivers when they’re accessible. They also mentioned that somewhere around the Middle Bay, there’s a spot still producing specks right now. They didn’t specify and we don’t make guesses, but it’s not exactly a secret so we’ll leave it to you to fathom just where that might be.
Speaking of alternative species, don’t think that multiple options in the Middle Bay are done for the year. We heard from two readers who scored sea bass in deep (40-plus down to 80 feet) water, fishing heavy metal jigs on structure. Anglers confirms the bite, and is reporting that visiting 80 feet of water and dangling Gulp! or squid on one-ounce G-Eye Jigs on structure is doing the trick.
Middle Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report, December 4 Update:
The Angler in Chief reports spending his days in Eastern Bay lately, with the bite on the western side getting a bit tougher recently. He says there are fish up to 30-inches from Parsons clear out to the western edge of The Hill, but in small pods not mass schools, and they have been playing hard to get at times. He recommends using the birds as an indication of a general area to look, then searching with the meter to find small stacks of quality fish at or near bottom. Running every time you see a bird fluttering around is a dead end, because most of the time the schools are up and down rapidly — searching where they were recently and then finding them on the meter is key. The 30- to 35-foot zone has been best, with most of the fish caught right on bottom. Trollers also report success in the area particularly while pulling weighted umbrellas very close to bottom, especially on the west side of the Hill. Readers from the Choptank reported similar experiences this week with better action from both birds but similarly lock-jawed fish at times, with success on some up to 28 inches and one 35-incher that hit a Stretch 25 reported this week. Both trollers and jiggers let us know they were catching but more people got quality fish towing umbrellas and tandems. A few readers also reported finding fish to 26 inches off Chesapeake Beach, and trolling from Calvert Cliffs to Taylor’s Island.
Two crazy-cool reports: First, we heard from a reader who got a legal slot red amongst the specks, small redfish, and stripers at the powerplant. Serious congrats go to Dillon! However, we also heard from two anglers who made the trip there in the past week and failed to put a single fish in the cooler (throwback stripers were reported), so be prepared to work for your fish. Second, anglers fishing on reefs, live bottom, and wrecks between Sharp’s Island/Stone Rock area and Point Lookout, are reporting amazing numbers of sea bass including enough keepers in the mix to take home dinner with some regularity.
The Tackle Box is reporting a great bite from Hooper’s Island Light to buoy 72, with birds often marking a frenzy in progress. Contributor Eric Packard spent a day fishing in the vicinity of 72A, where there were flocks of birds and almost as many boats. The mix of trollers and jiggers caught great numbers of fish but most were on the small side, with a few for the fishbox in the low 20s. Plastics on one-ounce heads and metal spoons were both effective. He also had a very good day off Point No Point late this week, with many throwbacks but about five in one making the grade with the biggest fish up around the 31-inch mark and over 20 keepers caught and released.